Prompts for Pupils · RGS Prompt Library

A thinking partner, not a shortcut.

These are prompts designed for pupils to use directly, not teachers. They turn Copilot into a thinking partner, challenging pupils to explain, defend, be questioned, and be tested, rather than a shortcut for getting answers. Built for independent study and homework. Pitched for Key Stage 3 through Sixth Form, with guidance on each card for adapting up or down by age.

One habit to get into: sources first. Whatever pupils are doing, being quizzed, being challenged, getting explanations, they should attach their notes, the textbook chapter, or the specification before they prompt. Without sources, AI fills the gaps by inventing things. Confident, plausible, sometimes wrong. Give it the right material and it works to their curriculum, their exam board, their level.

Setting pupils up to use these well, five things worth telling them

Sources first, every time. Remind pupils to attach their notes, the textbook chapter, or the specification before they prompt. Without sources, Copilot fills the gaps by inventing things, plausible, confident, sometimes wrong.
The pupil does the thinking. These prompts are designed to question, challenge, and test pupils, not to hand over answers. Pupils may try to short-cut by asking Copilot to just give them the answer; the prompts are built to resist that, but it helps if pupils know upfront that this is the point.
Retrieve before you read. Encourage pupils to ask to be tested first, before asking for explanations. Knowing the gap is what makes the explanation stick.
Why, not what. Pupils default to "what is X?" and forget the answer. Nudge them toward "why does X work?" or "what would happen if X changed?", the questions that build understanding.
Verify what matters. Copilot occasionally invents quotes, dates, sources, or technical details. Tell pupils: if a fact is going in an essay or exam answer, check it against the textbook before using it.